Title: The Ultimate Disruptor: The Challenges and Opportunities of the Internet of Things and Smart Cities at the Nexus of Transportation

Summary: According to CompTIA’s Sizing Up the Internet of Things (IOT) report, projections estimate 50.1 billion connected devices by the year 2020 and $1.9 trillion in global economic value-add. The dramatic rise in computing power and storage capacity offered at ever-lower prices, coupled with the miniaturization of sensors and chips, robust wireless networks, IPv6, and a software-defined world, to name a few enabling factors, make this iteration of the Internet of Things different than prior eras. The information being generated by IOT devices has the ability to connect everything to everything else. Not just communication between the different devices, but across industries.

Capitalizing on IOT opportunities are Smart Cities. A smart city gathers data from smart devices and sensors embedded in its roadways, power grids, buildings and other assets. It shares that data via a smart communications system that is typically a combination of wired and wireless. It then uses smart software to create valuable information and digitally enhanced services.

At the nexus of IOT and Smart Cities is Transportation. Connected vehicles, interfacing with the IOT enabled urban infrastructure system of systems has the potential to be transformative. Once transportation services leverage IOT enabled technology and intersect with other sectors of the economy, there is vast potential for fundamental change.